You throw the ball. You catch the ball. You hit the ball…Of course, baseball fans know that this line from Bull Durham is far from true, part of the humor of the movie and a huge part of the fun of the game. This blog is a space to talk about baseball, being a baseball fan, all of those things that make the game fun and the Angels, because they make baseball fun for me.

March 2012

As Spring Training draws to a close the 25 man roster is beginning to take more shape. Jason Isringhausen’s up, Mike Trout’s down and Bobby Abreu is? Well? Ummm? Now that is the uncomfortable question of the Spring, now isn’t it?

Mike Trout, to the surprise of many is headed back down to the AAA for the time being. When Spring Training began, I had hoped for a different outcome. My current dream Angels outfield has Trout and Peter Bourjos in it together. But Mike Trout missed most of Spring Training and was not his normal self for the rest of it following a nasty bout with the flu that to all reports left him physically drained and 15 pounds lighter. Go figure – getting the flu isn’t any easier or more fun when you’re a professional athlete. So, as much as I’d like to see Trout up with the major league club this season, I can’t argue with the idea of leaving him in AAA to heal up and get back into the swing of things. He is only 20 years old after all. No need to rush these things and, besides, I can’t imagine the Angels waiting all the way until September call ups to bring him back up again.

And it looks like the Angels’ bullpen certainly will not lack for a veteran presence in 2012. The team welcomed Jason Isringhausen to the 25 man roster this week. Do I love the move? Do I hate it? Eh, with Michael Kohn and Bobby Cassevah sidelined with injuries right now, we have the room. I’ll reserve love it or hate it judgment until we see which era of his considerable experience Isringhausen is channeling this season, a good year, or?? Yeah.

Which brings us to Bobby. Bobby. Bobby, baby. Bobby, bubbi. Angel, I’ve got something to tell you… I detested Company, actually, but lately that snippet of recurring refrain keeps popping into my head every time Abreu’s name comes up in the news and I think it’s because, like the character in the play, there is a big obvious change that needs to happen in his life that he is fighting tooth and nail…to the annoyance of everyone.

As for Company, I might have liked it better if I hadn’t sat through six performances of it in one week, all of them featuring two roles so badly overacted that they unintentionally over emphasized the terribly self absorbed nature of so many of the characters. What can I say, too many friends in the Spring main stage that year, too many more friends who hadn’t seen them do their thing yet and way too many, impossible to politely turn down comped tickets. Ah, college!

As for Bobby, I know I’d like the situation better if he were accepting it with a little more grace. He is not an everyday player anymore, not in the field anyway. Whenever we put him out there for any length of time, it goes badly. While I am really sorry to say it, he just plain can’t move the way he used to in the outfield – even though, surprisingly, he can on the base paths and that is a joy and a half to watch – and when he gets frustrated by this, he throws the ball away once or twice a game. I get it in the sense that I can’t even imagine how frustrating it must be for a player of his former caliber with his career stats to have his body missing what his mind and instincts are so strongly willing it to do by just that much. And when Bobby isn’t playing in the field every day, his mighty bat gets pretty darned quiet which does mean there isn’t a whole lot of workable room on the roster for him.

The comments Bobby made to the Venezuelan press about doubting Mike Scioscia’s word that he would see 400 at bats in 2012 were inappropriate no matter when he made them…but they weren’t incorrect. Unless something radical happens to the roster and Bobby improves at the plate, I don’t see him getting those at bats either. So Bobby’s here but, if our big bat, good clubhouse guy, occasional right fielder can’t play right field, isn’t doing so hot at the plate and is no longer a good clubhouse guy over the whole thing, I think it would be best for all concerned, including Bobby, if he were not here anymore. It’s too bad that contract makes him so hard to move – thanks Tony! And even with the pissy attitude of late, I hate writing that. Bobby was great for the Phillies, great for the Yankees and one of my favorite players to watch on the Angels in his first year and change with the team. Like I said at the beginning, very uncomfortable all around.

So, everyone’s getting really excited about the first Regular Season games starting in just a few hours, right? I mean, we’re all getting up extra early, with elaborate brunch, beer and calling in late to work plans so we can watch the games, right? *crickets* Yeah, that about sums it up. While I like the idea of exhibition games in Japan and other countries, I think that having the Mariners and A’s play two regular season games there is just ho hum. The timing will always be awkward, both in terms of fitting the games into the Regular Season calendar and in terms of the games themselves taking place at a time when the teams’ U.S. fans can easily watch. For this reason, I doubt MLB will ever get teams that are predicted to contend to participate and so what we’re left with is just blah. Two games stuck in a weird sort of baseball limbo. They count towards the regular season record, so they’re not quite exhibition games. But most folks aren’t paying any attention and the games are occurring completely outside the Regular Season calendar, well before the official Opening Day on April 4th, so it’s almost as if they aren’t really Regular Season games either, leaving me for one wondering, Why bother?

I’ll tell you what is exciting though, Magic Johnson buying the Dodgers. Ding Dong, the McCourts are gone. The wicked McCourts are gone! Yes, I root for the Halo’d ones down in Anaheim, but I’m an L.A. girl raised going to games in Chavez Ravine by a Dodger lovin’ family. As long as we aren’t specifically in the middle of a Freeway Series, I will always have a soft spot for the boys in blue. Besides, I like to think that baseball fans everywhere were rooting for the Dodgers to come out on top of all this – Come on Giants fan cousins of mine, you know you were rooting for them too…come on. Hey. That’s not the gesture you really want to be making. Seriously, knock that off right now or I’m telling your mom. See, that’s much better. Don’t you feel better now? Ummm…never mind.;)

Anyway, moving right along…Magic Johnson is a shrewd businessman who has managed to create businesses that are simultaneously good for the community, good for local sports and entertainment, and also profitable. And for those of you who don’t have a lot of experience with business and politics in L.A., trust me, that’s no easy feat. Plus, Magic Johnson has been an L.A. guy by choice since his retirement. I see him as the kind of owner who will cultivate a good team on the field (and it’s not like he doesn’t have plenty of good players to work with already), while pleasing fans and leaving the important traditions intact. At least, this is what I hope will happen…even though I still hope they lose every single Freeway Series game. Hey, Dodgers soft spot, Angels heart. My goodwill is extensive, but not boundless. ;)

Which brings me to news even more exciting than that: Kendrys is hitting over .600 since his Spring Training debut and continues to see regular playing time, and I saw my first lit Halo of 2012 driving through Anaheim the other night. Okay, so it’s only a lit exhibition Halo, but still. Lit. Halo! The Regular Season – the real Regular Season – is so close I can taste it!

The Halo on the Big A shines into the March 2012 evening, announcing a Spring Training victory! Yes, I took this photo through the none too clean windshield of our moving vehicle. No, I wasn't the one driving. ;) Photo by This is a Very Simple Game...

Ahem. So LeAnne Rimes has this song called Big Deal. It’s a catchy little tune about a young lady who dumped a guy a while back and, while she’s 99.999…% over him at this point, she’s still plenty miffed that her best friend has started dating him and won’t shut up about how amazing he is. So the young lady is encouraging her friend, perfectly politely of course, to adopt a more tactful topic of conversation…right now.

Anyway, last night Seth and I watched the Giants/Rangers game. Ho Hum. But nothing else was on. Certainly not the Kendrys Morales batting cleanup behind Albert Pujols because Kendrys is looking that good game that I actually wanted to be watching even though it’s only a Spring Training game but couldn’t be watching because none of the stupid networks were airing it…*pauses to take a deep breath…finally*…not that I’m bitter about it or anything even though he hit a home run. *pauses to breathe again* ;) And we capped it off with the Rangers edition of 30 Clubs in 30 Days.

Mike Napoli was heavily featured in this MLBN preseason rundown, naturally, and, also naturally, we kept watching because we both like the guy. He was a great Angel and one of those players you wish all the best…just much, much further away than Texas in an ideal world. It was enjoyable and yet not so enjoyable at the same time and, as Dan Plesac and the Rangers began laying on the Napoli accolades thicker and thicker I was eventually moved to begin singing LeAnn’s catchy ditty: Yeah, you call yourself a friend, but you just keep rubbing it in. Big Deal. So what!…

Seth began cracking up almost immediately and took up the refrain: Who cares! You just got lucky that’s all. It was. Shut up! I swear…

But here we paused and looked at each other giggling, unsure of how to go on because the “candle light and long stem roses nd how you’re falling head over heels, in love…”of the next line, unlike its predecessors, hardly fit Mike Napoli and the Rangers.

And by that point we were both laughing too hard to extemporize any further…and to follow the thread of the rest of the analysis truth be told. Anyway, we both thought we were pretty darned funny…perhaps the Friday night wine ritual helped that sentiment along a bit, but it still seemed worth sharing, especially this weekend. With Rangers/Angels match ups both today and tomorrow, I am sure the Napoli trade and his stellar 2011 season couples with the Angels anemic 2011 offense will be rehashed ad nauseum along with both teams’ offseason acquisition exploits.

Besides, the song, both the original lyrics and our little reworking of them, fits my feelings on the situation perfectly. I’m over the Mike Napoli trade. I am. I didn’t want him traded away, but it’s not like fans have any choice in the matter, and it’s not like he played like this for the Angels anyway. (And don’t bring up playing time. He actually had significantly more playing time for the Angels in 2010 than he did for the Rangers in 2011. The whole playing time thing is a myth.) Don’t get me wrong, last season was painful in bold 48 pt. font italic all caps covered in sparkles, just for good measure…awful, Twilight Vampirey sparkles. *shudders*

…But trading Mathis and acquiring a catcher that seems capable of hitting above the Mendoza line has helped a lot. Retooling the offense has helped even more. I’m absolutely not saying, ‘Who needs Mike Napoli?’ But I am saying, it’s over and done with. I have moved on. I really like the team we have now and I am at peace with the whole trade ick. But, much like the main subject of LeAnn’s song, that doesn’t mean I will ever enjoy hearing the announcers, the press and everyone else go on and on. And on. And on about the whole thing.

He’s back! He’s back! Kendrys Morales is back! And he looked pretty darned good too, with a single in his first at bat in an Angels’ uniform since Memorial Weekend, 2010 and another in his third at bat. He’s running. He’s sliding!! And all in more or less regular form. I tell you, it brought a tear to my eye…okay more than one.

Yes, taking photos of my television set is probably more than a little lame. But, is that lineup not a thing of beauty? Angels vs. Royals Spring Training on Fox Sports West, March 22, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...

Flushed, cheering and bouncing around the room from excitement, I posted something similarly gushy on FaceBook. And what stupendous outpouring of love did I receive for this momentous announcement? Pray tell, how many ‘hell yeahs!’ and ‘Right ons!’ exactly? *crickets* That’s right, ladies and gentlemen. Nothin’ but *crickets* I say this with extreme affection, but baseball philistines the lot of them. ;) And this, in a nutshell, is why I blog. Whoever you root for, you’ve been there before. You all get why this news is so amazing!

I haven’t posted a whole lot about Kendrys lately. I haven’t been documenting his progress religiously in this blog and I’ve avoided making impassioned predictions about his ability to return. And, trust me, it’s not because I haven’t been tracking his progress since his second surgery with keen interest. And it’s not because I haven’t been hoping that he could make it back to the roster this season with all of my little old baseball lovin’ heart. No, it’s just that I’m a practical person and, while I do tend toward optimism, it’s a cautious, guarded sort of optimism.

After last season’s disappointment, hoping and rooting for Kendrys to play again and then the setbacks, the second surgery, and another season on the DL, I had to take all of the reports this offseason of his impending 2012 return with several cups of salt – forget those measly grains. Foot and ankle injuries are terrible. Even when they heal, scar tissue can prevent the injured foot from ever working properly again, from ever functioning without a great deal of pain again. And that’s just for those of us who expect normal things of our bodies. For a professional athlete who requires so much more strength and dexterity from his body? Yeah, it’s just that much harder.

Yep, more photos of my television set. But, but, it's Kendrys Morales at the plate!! And that's the swing that resulted in his first hit. So. Very. Cool! Angels vs. Royals Spring Training on Fox Sports West, March 22, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...

So I promised myself that I wasn’t going to get excited about Kendrys until I saw him stride up to the plate, bat in hand, in a regular season game. And I meant it. No, seriously. I promised. Not until the regular seas…yeah, and that all flew out the window today watching that perfectly quirky, half pigeon-toed batting stance. You know the one. Yeah! And then the foot twist and the kick when he swings. And the sound the ball makes when it flies off his bat?! It was exactly like the old Kendrys…okay, with some rust. But you can see the old Kendrys not too far underneath the rust. Promise now thoroughly defenestrated, I can’t stop thinking about a regular season lineup with Kendrys batting 4th right behind Albert Pujols. A prediction? Why, yes. I think it’s absolutely going to happen and I couldn’t be more excited.

View of Paso Robes farmland taken from West Highway 46 looking out towards a completely mist shourded Morro Bay. The rock? I can't see it, but who cares with all this pretty. March 17, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...

…Yeah, I wish. ;) Though as not-Ireland places for a St. Patrick’s weekend getaway go, Paso Robles, CA is plenty nice enough. And although the particular shades of green in this landscape are all wrong for Ireland, it is still quite lovely and the mist and rain were at least accurate. So what’s a diehard Angels fan like me doing in a place like Paso Robles when there are games going on Arizona, you ask?

Well, with Pujols-mania bringing folks out to Tempe in droves, hotel stays and such suddenly got more expensive and harder to book, so we decided to wait and go to Spring Training another year. Oh well, I was a little sad but that does mean more money for the regular season ticket budget, which certainly makes up for missing out…and, besides, it’s the Zinfandel Festival which means I just spent a lovely weekend going through my own little baseball blogger’s Spring Training, which came none too soon if you ask me. Between Albert Pujols heating up the lineup, the rest of the bats following right long, the starting rotation looking great and even more formidable with the addition of C.J. Wilson, and what is looking more and more like the very real possibility of Kendrys Morales returning to the 25-man roster, this could be a very special season in the making. A blogger’s got to prepare. Training and drills are a must.

Okay, training and drills. Fine, you say. But at a wine festival? Of course at a wine festival! Where else could I get all of this practice and prep in? Take photos, for example. If you read this blog last season – first off thank you! – you know I like to take photos when I go to Angels games so that I can pepper my posts with photos that are as much mine as the commentary. Well, taking baseball game photos can be tricky. There’s a lot of action. Your subjects are constantly on the move, sometimes in unpredictable ways. It’s all too easy for the rusty blogger to end up with a large collection of photos like this one, which I like to call Not-So-Still life with Aybar:

A blurry, bad Erick Aybar rounding first base photo that is only seeing the light of day per the Roger Rabbit rules: Only when it's funny! Angels vs. White Sox, May 10, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

Or even this one. Mike Trout and Peter Bourjos were both well in frame and in focus when I started to take the photo…:

A blurry, bad Mike Trout and Peter Bourjos warming up photo that is only seeing the light of day per the Roger Rabbit rules: Only when it's funny! Angels vs. Mariners, September 5, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

You’ve got to warm up for tricky action shots. Practicing on things that don’t move but require a lot of detail and focus can be helpful, like this vineyard (I love the gnalred, wintery vines and the lines created by the three distinct fields with vines running at three different angles):

Views like this are why I say if I could find a way to make money up here, I would absolutely move to Paso Robles. Anyone need a mortgage banking, copy writing couple? We would probably be fair hats at catering and he brews excellent beer! March 16, 2012, Red Soles Winery property. Photo by This is a very simple game...

Or this gorgeous tasting room:

Shale Oak Winery's absolutely gorgeous eco-friendly tasting room. Grab a glass of something bold and fruity and head for the fire pits on the patio. March 16, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...

Then you can move on to some simple action subjects, like these Paso Robles wild turkeys:

Why did these Paso Robles wild turkeys cross the field? Duh, to get to road of course. March 16, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...

I say a simple action shot because, although this is an impressive little dominance display here, with a lot of action going on, turkeys (the real ones with feathers at any rate) don’t generally muck up photos by adjusting themselves. Still, although no Spring Training can ever replicate the real thing I think I have gotten enough “innings” in with the camera to be ready for the regular season.

As for the rest of my blogger’s Spring Training? Well, I got to study plenty of tasty treats in preparation for my Friday Gourmet, Wine and Angels nights, like this glorious roast pork panini and sundried tomato salad from Farmstand 46. They call it The Goat:

If you're ever passing through Paso Robles, Farmstand 46 is a must! Behold The Goat, a slow roated pork shoulder panini topped with pickled onions, salty gruyere and a homemade garlic aioi, accompanied by a sundried tomato salad and real macaroons. March 16, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...

…or the Zinfandel sliders, the tacos al pastor, the paella or any of the other deliciousness I was too busy nom-ing to take a photo of. Would I really make a roast pork panini or paella just for our Friday Gourmet, Wine and Angels enjoyment? *laughs* Will Mike Scioscia change the Angels lineup a minimum of 60 times this season? Hell. Yes.

Speaking of Friday Gourmet, Wine and Angels, what better place to stock up the old wine cellar than at Zin Fest? Yes, I think it’s going to be a beautiful season:

Part of this year's Zin Fest haul. As they say in Paso Robles, 'Sip. Swirl. Enjoy!' Don't mind if I do. March 17, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...

I even got my usual pre-season gabfest in with some of the Giants fans at the Barrel 27 pick-up party. Not surprisingly they are every bit as thrilled to be getting Buster Posey back as we are with the positive Kendrys outlook. Not to mention it was fun talking rookies and just barely not rookies with them. The Giants have some great younger players in the mix or soon to be in the mix too – one gent I was chatting with is particularly enamored with Baby Giraffe, Brandon Belt – so our two fan bases have some fun things in common.

So, I have my trusty camera at the ready, my Opening Day tickets in hand…er…inbox, plenty of wine options (seriously if I actually showed you the full collection of options, you would laugh at me!) and my typing fingers limber and warmed up. 19 days until Opening Day and I. Can’t. Wait!

Holy Angels Lineup, Batman! They hit! They steal! They knock in runs! And they score and score and score again! I am so happy with the Angels offense right now that I am beaming as I type this. I hope this carries over into the regular season and grows! It sure looks Albert Pujols was the missing piece this lineup puzzle needed because all of the good pieces we had going last season are now working in conjunction with one another to create multiple, multiple run innings instead of little tiny offensive outbursts. They look almost as good as the starting rotation – and that ‘almost’ reflects more on the high bar set by the starting rotation than anything else. Speaking of which, I’ll bet that as pleased as the fans are, the run support starved starting rotation is even more so.

That sticky third base question…seems to be a lot less sticky than folks were predicting actually. We have now seen Mark Trumbo play third base and it worked out pretty darned well. He played the grounders hit his way well, including one that took a nasty hop. He made a great diving catch. In all of the discussion about the possibility of Trumbo at third, his arm was never once in doubt…even so, it was really nice to see that this assessment was accurate. And he did all of this while enjoying a good day at the plate which included his first Trumbomb of Spring Training. It’s only Spring Training. It was a very small sample size. But I actually think this could work. The stats and logic behind Clubhouse Confidential’s much more dire predictions a few weeks back did seem to make an unfortunate amount of sense. But people had the same predictions for Trumbo at first base last season with the same logic and, while he was certainly no Gold Glover, he turned out to be a competent, reliable first baseman who kept improving all season. I was hoping he would demonstrate the same caliber as a third baseman and, after watching him, I think that’s exactly what we can expect.

Those crazy MLB video game commercials. MLB 2K12? MLB 12 the Show? Which is better? I certainly couldn’t say. I don’t play video games much and when I do I tend to gravitate back to something old school like Gauntlet or Heretic. But I do know that the commercials for both MLB video game franchises are usually something special and this year is no exception. Justin Verlander’s Randy Johnson impersonation in the MLB 2K12 commercial has me laughing out loud every time. It almost makes up for his attempts at comedy on Conan O’Brien. As for the other? Granted, it’s not that hard to make me cry these days, but a video game commercial? ‘Fraid so. That darned Cubs Win!MLB 12 the Show commercial actually made me tear up…er…makes me tear up. He’s just so sad at the end! (Of course, we all know who they tried to get to be in that commercial and that’s just plain mean.) Suffice to say, both ads were very well done.

Don’t forget your towel. According to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a towel is “about the most massively useful” item you can bring on any journey, local, interstellar, or somewhere in between. Apparently David Price agrees to disagree with the vaunted Guide on this front. Don’t panic, David, you are not alone. Many of us suffer bizarre abuse at the hands of seemingly innocuous inanimate objects. I have a friend who threw out her back showing her daughter how to put on nylons. I have another friend who received a scar from a Rock Band guitar pretty much just as she was just walking by – we refer to this as her Rock Band stage diving scar, by the way. And there’s a good tip for you. If you can’t somehow make the inanimate object injury sound less silly, go for making it sound epic instead.

As for me? Doors are my personal bete noir. Car doors. House doors. Cupboard doors. Heck, even door jams. They all attack me and bruise my arms and legs on a regular basis. See, you are far from alone. Though I must admit, it is nice for the rest of us to be reminded yet again that even Major League baseball players can suffer from occasional bouts of klutziness too…and that that the rest of us only have to answer to the mockery of our friends and family, not the national media. Of course, as a woman, attending a small liberal arts college and having the only honest answer to “Where on Earth did you get that bruise?” be, “I ran into a door.” was more than a little awkward too, as you might imagine.

I was very excited to see the “fully” mic’d game between the Indians and the D-Backs today, even though Seth and I had been joking about the Observer Effect all week – the idea that you can’t really observe a thing without somehow changing it. I figured the players would be very conscious of the microphones and that that would kill a lot of their chatter, but I was hoping for a little taste of the banter on the field. Yeah, not so much. The players were so self conscious – and/or were barraged with reminders to watch their *#!% mouth, grannie back home could hear every word they said – that they didn’t say much of anything that wasn’t of a strictly business nature…or maybe it was the game itself that subdued them? Today the role of Captain Obvious was played by Kirk Gibson: We just aren’t doing many things well today.

Still, it was an interesting experiment and we did hear and few worthwhile, useful and even entertaining things:

Hearing the base coaches talk to their runners. Even already understanding many of the strategies, hearing how these talks actually work was very cool. Steve Smith was especially good at this and his conversation with Shin Soo Choo following the line drive that had him hitting the decks was hilarious.

The umpires. By and large I think they were the most comfortable with the microphones and, while at times a few of them were playing for the back row, we heard reasonably natural sounding banter and job talk. It was interesting to see how much they just chat with players and coaches in between innings and sometimes in between plays.

So, can the players hear the fans? If the sounds from this game are any indication, oh boy can they! …or at least those fans seated closest to the field. And those whiney little kids begging for a ball sounded obnoxious from where I sat. Not all of the kids by any means, just those ones.

Jason Kipnis cracked me up. I get the impression that only some of the singing was intentional, like maybe he often sings to himself in the infield and wasn’t thinking about the mic at first. He looked genuinely uncomfortable when caught, but then did not hesitate to ham it up. And go Adele, making it on to more players frequent play lists – or so one would infer – than I would have thought possible.

With all of the mics, the sounds of the ball smacking gloves and flying off the bat were a lot closer to the sounds of actually being there at the game. Granted, I can usually hear these things reasonably well during Angels home broadcasts, but this was better.

While I have no doubt the managers also held back a lot because of the mics, there were a few great Kirk Gibson and Manny Acta one liners, like the Gibby quote I mention above.

Although the players dialed down the banter to near mute, as the game played out they became more and more comfortable with their usual business talk, and that was in and of itself educational. They’re better at it, obviously, but in calling the ball, calling the plays and encouraging teammates, they don’t sound too terribly different from baseball and softball players of all ages playing the game at any level.

I would love to hear what the players really say to one another on the field. In fact, if I could choose a mutant super power it might be some sort of controllable mutant hearing – hey it would be useful in business too! But, barring a bite from a radioactive owl, I don’t see that happening any time soon. And I certainly don’t want to change the way they communicate with one another for anything more than the occasional exhibition game. Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to continue making up conversations for them like I did last season:

Fernando Rodney chats with the Rangers bullpen. Well, they do say that when you're about to lose your job, networking is key. Angels vs. Rangers, September 26, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

Peter Bourjos, Mike Trout and Torii Hunter relax during a pitching change. Now, Bourjos and Trout are both incredulous. "Come on Torii, you expect us to believe that?!" Angels vs. A's, September 23, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

Adrian Beltre and Mike Trout at 3rd. "I know all about the bet, Kid. Don't even think about touching my head!!" ...and yet, Trout's still thinking about it. Angels vs. Rangers, September 26, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

Okay, so it’s only Spring Training. The sights and sounds of the game are never going to be the same in Spring Training as they are when the real deal begins. Still, after so many long days without, they sound pretty darned musical to me. So, after two entire Angels games, one of which only aired on the radio and one we watched this evening via that faithful friend of the working stiff, the DVR, I have a few thoughts.

It’s only Spring Training. And believe you me, if it were going badly I would absolutely be emphasizing how much Spring Training games don’t really mean anything, a fact I don’t forget just because things are going well. However, it makes me really happy to see:

Albert Pujols and that gorgeous swing looking good from the first at bat.

C.J. Wilson looking like he’s in season shape already or pretty darn close to it.

The regular infielders doing their regular season thing in the field and at the plate.

One possible incarnation of the outfield doing their regular season thing in the field and at the plate.

Alberto Callaspo belting the ball and playing his position with an “Ahem. I’m still here!” swagger and chip on his shoulder.

Angels infielders turning two in March with a decidedly May kind of ease and precision. Have you ever noticed that the sound of the ball slapping the glove during a solid 6-4-3 or 4-6-3 is just a little different than it sounds during any other play? Three fast, solid thunks in precisely measured succession. It’s a lovely sound!

Power from the catcher’s position!! Yeah, yeah, yeah. Spring Training ball parks. Blah, blah, blah. I don’t care. I have now seen current Angels catchers look like they actually know what they are doing in the batter’s box in two back to back games. And after last season? Yeah, that’s a big deal.

Angels ball players looking relaxed, rejuvenated, and very at ease with one another…until they start talking about the coming season and then there is a fire in their eyes. Love that!

Meh. It’s only Spring Training:

Oh my word, the errors. With every team, in every game. Balls zinging out of gloves. Sailing lazily past gloves. Dropping softly at the outfielders’ feet… Throws going into the outfield. The backstop. The dugout. The stands… And some of the pitching and hitting? Ugh. Yes, this is why we have Spring Training but it is also why Spring Training will never be as good as the regular season.

I’m not particularly impressed with most of the Angels kids so far. Not last season’s rookies or Mike Trout who spent a fair bit of time in the Bigs last year. I think my appreciation of their efforts and the breath of fresh air they bring has been thoroughly documented on these virtual pages. No, I mean the younger prospects. I really like Alexi Amarista whose gutsy, athletic, maximum effort style of play in a diminutive package reminds a bit of Dustin Pedroia. And I like Andrew Romine who has demonstrated great instincts and a gift for pulling plays out of thin air in the past. Other than that, I don’t see anything that impressive yet…of course, I wasn’t that impressed with Tyler Chatwood last Spring Training, so I can’t claim to have the best eye for the subtle nuances of a rookie-to-be’s performance.

The usual: No one stays in the game for very long, even when they’re doing well. Small stadiums make for quiet games. Even the announcers…heck, even the sound and picture quality seem to be in training right along with the players.

We got to watch baseball. Real, current – if not precisely live – baseball over dinner for four days running now. And this evening my husband looked from the game to me with a very contented smile, all of the strain of the day gone from his face, and sighed. This is a nice evening, he said. It’s great to have the back game on. I couldn’t agree more…and that part needs no Spring Training specific header. That part is universal.

Angels individual game tickets go on sale in a few more hours and I am as eager and excited as a kid on the last day of school. Dreaming of games future. Contemplating what games I’m going to buy tickets for Saturday and what games I’m just going to cross my fingers I get at season ticket prices on StubHub or the like later…I certainly hope tickets won’t be so popular this year that that little trick ceases to exist. *crosses fingers and toes too for good measure* I mean, I don’t have to go to 22 games again this year, but I’d really like to…*upon further thought, uncrosses toes…this blogger is more than a bit of a klutz with her toes unencumbered*

Anyway, it is not possible to peruse the home game ticket options without noticing the promotional giveaways. Now, I go to games to watch the game. I typically pick games to see live based on, well, game factors – a particular opponent, a promising pitching match-up, getting to see each of our starters start at least once during the season, and so on – or based on our schedule. Hmmm…we don’t have any plans Sunday. Whatever shall we do? I know! Baseball!! Promotional giveaways enter only minimally into the equation, if at all. But I’m also not such a purist that I loathe promotional giveaways. Sure, they’re fluff. But what’s wrong with fluff? Fluff is fun, harmless, entertainment…you know, sort of like an action movie. Of course, as everyone knows, there are A List action movies, B List action movies and…well…let’s see how the 2012 Angels promotional giveaways stack up shall we?

On the A-List(think the classics: Die Hard, the Terminator, the Rock, the Bourne Series)

This was tricky, actually. This year’s promotional offerings aren’t nearly as compelling as last year’s. Gone is the summer concert series and the wide variety of hats and bobble heads has shrunk to recession like proportions. But there are still a few A-list offerings:

Big Bang Friday every Friday night home game: Okay, who doesn’t like fireworks? And fireworks and baseball together? Oh so much fun! I realize that pretty much every team does fireworks nights these days, however, not only is the Big A located in the land of Disney, its fireworks show concludes moments before and mere blocks away from the of Disney and you know how competitive baseball folk are. If other teams set off fireworks, the Angels set off FIREWORKS!!!

Father’s Day Oven Mitt and Pot Holder in June: A+++ for not having this be a BBQ specific item. A lot of guys seriously cook, on the BBQ and in the kitchen, and I thought it was exceptionally cool that this item was a lot less stereotypical than it could have been…not to mention, I would totally love having these items in my kitchen.

The C.J. Wilson Backpack and Angels lunch bag for the kidlets on separate days in August: again, back to school themed items are something every team does in September, but especially given C.J. Wilson’s local boy come home status, these seemed like items the kids would actually be vying for. Now if only I had access to prop children who wouldn’t insist on keeping the lunch bag for themselves… ;)

On the B-List (think the cult classics, movies so low budget, preposterous and cheesy that they are actually awesome beyond all measure: Escape from L.A., They Live!, Big Trouble in Little China, 3,000 Mile to Graceland…okay, anything involving Kurt Russell!)

Who are those masked men? Angels Super Fans sport the 2011 Lucha Libre masks, and numerous other Angels promotional items as post of some of the cooler outfits I have ever seen at the ballpark. Thanks for posing for the photo, guys! - Photo by This is a very simple game...

While I don’t see any breakout, Angels Lucha Libre mask-level items on the 2012 schedule (because that was the Kurt Russell movie of promotional giveaways if ever there was such a thing), there are still a few pleasing options, including:

Angels Hula Girl in June: A luchador mask it’s not, but somehow, even sight unseen, I predict this will be the must have cubicle accessory, much like the luchador mask before it, at the Angels lovin’ office where Seth and I both used to work.

Angels Cowboy Hat, also in June: Or, as I said to Seth as soon as I saw it, Oh honey, look! The Angels are giving away a stripper hat when the Rangers come to town! Seth *laughed hard, looked at the hat and laughed harder* We’re going, right? Me: Absolutely:

On the C…okay, the D-List(think movies that are outright, what-the-heck-were-they-thinking, bad: Speed II, Highlander II, Transformers II…hey, are we sensing a theme here? Thank goodness they never made sequels to the Matrix or I might have to speak ill of initial genius here…shut up. They never made them. Never. La la la la, not listening.)

Angels Car Air Freshener in May: Seriously? An Angels car air freshener?! What does it smell like? Victory? Bananas? Wet Rally Monkey? Then again, the Angels are giving this particular treasure out while the Yankees are in town. Maybe I should rethink my categorization of this item strictly on opponent alone. ;)

Rally Monkey Beanie in May: All I’m going to say about this item is that it’s not just a giveaway for kids. That and the photo which is worth at least 1,000 very scary words, should be enough to explain why this item is on the D-List:

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Friday Gourmet, Wine and Grimm? Hey, there are no games on yet, and Grimm is a pretty entertaining diversion. Besides, a girl had to practice to keep up on her Friday Gorumet… skills in the offseason. So this Friday in addition to a delightfully heavy on the S GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre), I made several different types of lavosh. (The leftovers will be known as lunch for the rest of the weekend.) And in the course of playing with the eclectic end of the week offerings in our kitchen I think I improved upon 2011’s Red (Onion) State Blue (Cheese) State Lavosh. The 2012 version uses caramelized white onions and then dried tart cherries for the red. Oh so good if I do say so myself:

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